Strapless bathing suit



July 5, 1955 B. w. MosEN ETAL STRAPLESS BATHING SUIT Filed June 26, 1950 INVENTOR Egon/,s W 11105912/ A ORNEY United States Patent' O STRAPLESS BATHING SUIT` Boris W. Mosen and Adolph Mosen, New York, N. Y.

Application June 26, 1950, Serial No. 170,349

Patented July 5, 1955 ICC In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of one type of bathing suit construction according to the present invention, showing the suspension means from the front in dotted-line position.

4 Claims. (ci. 2 57) The present invention relates to a strapless bathing suit construction and it particularly relates to a strapless bathing suit construction of elasticized fabric.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a strapless bathing suit construction which will reliably it around the body of the wearer during bathing, swimming, or other aquatic sports and at the same time will not cause any chafing or discomfort and at the same time will be attractive in appearance and will not tend to' Still further objects and advantages will appear in the' more detailed description set forth below, .it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may' be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects, it has been found most satisfactory, according to one embodiment of the present invention, to provide a bathing suit construction of elasticized fabrics of either the skirted or lskirtless type, which bathing suit is preferably provided with two front panels extending from the top of the bosom to the trunk and transversely stretchable and vertically non-stretchable and two rear panels of transversely stretchable andl vertically non-stretchable fabrics.

The particular feature of the present invention'resides in the construction of the top or suspension portion tof the strapless bathing suit and particularly the upper periphery of the upper front portion of the bathing suit, which enables an automatic conformation of the bathing suit to the figure and bosom of the wearer and also gives assurance of reliable suspension over long periods of time.

According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, two separate, transverse pieces of elastic tape or strapping material are shown in which the upper pe riphery of the front portion above the bosom of these separated, aligned pieces of elastic tape or fabric will assure suspension of the upper portion of the bathing suit without straps, without discomfort, chafing or unsightly gathering or bulging and this assurance of rrn suspension is obtained even though the wearer resorts to vigorous exercise in aquatic sports or in swimming.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear view upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 1, partly broken away to show the manner of attachment of the suspension or supporting means into the upper periphery above the bosom of the garment. y

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the lineH3-73 of Fig. 2 upon an enlarged scale as compared to Figs..l and 2.

Figfli is an inside elevational view showing an intermediateV operation of attaching the elastic bands to the front ply of the garment before such ply is sewn to the rest of the garment.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown a bathing suit construction A having two front panels 10 joined together at 11 and two rear panels 12 similarly joined together along a central seam in the back of the garment.

The bathing suit A is shown as of the skirtless type but it is apparent that a skirt may be readily attached thereto.

The elasticized .fabrics forming the back panels and front panels 10 and 12 have lateral stretch, as indicated inthe direction 13 but they are devoid of any vertical stretch.

Desirably, the outside edges of the front panels 10 are gathered as indicated at 14 along the attachment seam 15, where they are joined to the rear panels 12.

The present invention is particularly directed to the suspension indicated at B in Figs. l, 2 and 3.

The front fabric, as best shown in Fig. 3, extends upwardly at 20 to the peak 21 and then downwardly as indicated at 22, where it is turned in at 23 and stitched at 24 to a facing fabric 25. The facing fabric 2S is cut to form downwardly extending point members 26 which extend downwardly in front of the suspension B.

, The facing fabric 25, which is also laterally stretchable, extends upwardly, as indicated at 26 in Fig. 3, to a peak at 27 and then it extends downwardly inside of the. garment as indicated at 28 to the edge 29.

Above the edge 29 the fabric 28 forming part of the fabric 25 is stitched at 30 to a lining fabric 32 adjacent its lower edge 33 and also to the depending fabric strip 3l.

36 which are stitched at 37 to the ply 28 and which are The upper edge of the strip of fabric 32 is stitched at 35 to the fabric section 28 and between the section 28 and the fabric ply 32 is positioned the elasticized band 36.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, there are two elastic bands provided with heavy tacking 38 inside of their ends 39 to the section 28.

It will be noted that there is a substantial gap, as indicated at 40, adjacent the inside ends 39a of the elastic strip 36 and it will also be noted that these elastic strips terminate at outside ends 39b substantially inside of the side seams 15.

The fabric 31, which is not elastic, extends down to above the waistline, as indicated by the dotted line 41 in Fig. l. The two sections, both right and left, are sewn together and then the elastic sections 36 are sewn thereinto. The elastic is attached only to the ply 2S and is free of attachment to the ply 32.

In attaching the elastic band as shown in Fig. 4, the front ply 25, which is folded over at 27 and continues in the rear ply 28 at the top of the depending lining fabric 31, is rst stitched in reversed ilat position to the elastic bands 36. This stitching is accomplished along the lines 37 at the upper and lower edges of the bands 36 and 'the ends of the bands are tacked in position as 3 indicated at 38. Then the cover strip 32, to form a complete tube, is stitched in position at 35.

Following this, the upper reversely bent edge of the interior strip or apron 31 is stitched at 30 to thek lower edges of the sides 32 and 28, which form the envelope for receiving the elastic 36.

By providing these heavy, elastic tapes 36 above the breast portions 42, assurance is had that the upper portion of the garment, as indicated at C in Fig. 1, will stay in position and will not tend to drop or chate the wearer or result in any unsightly bulging or wrinkling.

The two heavy elastic bands 36 aid the lateral stretching qualities, as indicated at 13, of the fabric panels 10 and assure a better, more durable and more conforming construction.

In constructing the above garment it has been found satisfactory to sew the heavy elastic bands in position against the section 28 with. the. stitching 37 and 38 after the two sections 22 have been centrally sewn together at the central seam 11. Then this previously sewn portion is sewn both to the previously assembled panels 10 and 12 and to the inner lining fabric 31.

While there has been herein described' a preferred form of the invention, it should be understood that the same may be altered in details and in relative arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. A strapless bathing suit construction of the skirted or skirtless type having breast portions and comprising a plurality of vertical elastisized main front and rear fabric panels joined to form side edges of said panels having lateral stretch qualities and a top suspension construction having separated heavy elastic bands extending across the top of the breast portions, the upper.

portion of said bathing suit having an outer elastic section, an inner elastic section and an elastic strip' forming` a tube together with said inner elastic section and heavy elastic bands being inserted between said strip andv said inner section and being stitched into position on said inner section, said heavy elastic bands terminating at a position on the top of the breast portions substantially removed from the middle of the front central axis of the garment so that the adjacent inside ends of said heavy elastic bands will be substantially spaced from one an otherr and said heavy elastic bands also terminating at the sides of the garment at a position substantially spaced from the side edges of the garment and stitching extend'- ing through said elastic bands around their upper andl lower edges and end portion. said stitching extending through said vertical elasticized main front fabric panels.

2. A strapless bathingv suit construction of the skirted or skirtless` type having breast portions and comprising a plurality of vertical elastisized main front and rear fabric panels joined to form side edges of said panels having lateral stretch qualities and a top suspension construction having separated heavy elastic bands extending across the top of the breast portions, said main front fabric panels having upper suspensions which extend downwardly in front of the upper periphery of the front of the bathing suit and inner tubular elastisized fabric sections connected to said main front fabric panels, said tubular structure receiving said heavy elastic bands, said heavy elastic bands terminating at a position on the top of the breast portions substantially removed from the middle of the front central axis of the garment so that the adjacent inside ends of said heavy elastic bands will be substantially spaced from one another and said heavy elastic bands also terminating at the sides of the gar ment at a position substantially spaced from the side edges of the garment and stitching extending through said elastic bands around their upper and lower edges and end portion, said stitching extending through said vertical elasticized main front fabric panels.

3. A womans strapless bathing suit with an encirciing upper body portion having two vertically extending main body front panels and two vertically extending rear body panels, saidv front and rear body panels being sewn together along vertical seams which seams extend vertically along the sides and middle of the front and back of the bathing suit, and said front main panels being transversely stretchable and substantially vertically nonstretchable, the upper part of the front of the bathing suit having outside and inside depending apron-like members and short separated horizontally extending elastic bands stitched to the inside apron-like member, said outside apron-like member being two-ply with the outermost ply extending over the top of the garment and forming the top of the inside apron-like member and with the inner ply forming a reversely bent portion of the front main body panels. l

4. A womans strapless bathing suit with an encircling upper body portion having two vertically extending main body front panels and two vertically extending rear body panels, said front and rear body panels being sewn together along vertical seams which seams extend ver- Y 'tically along the sides and middle of the front and back the depending inside apronlike member is single ply and extends down toward the waistline of the garment.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,495,931 Somers May 27, 1924 1,813,389 Duff July 7, 1931 2,099,885 Hansen Nov. 23, 1937 2,104,943 DAchon Jan. 11, 1938 2,458,696 Elias Jan. 11, 1949 2,516,426 Schimmel July 25, 1950 

